Treadle mechanism



April 19321 H. 'A. RISING TREADLE MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Dec. 7,1929 5112,1932. H. A. RISING 1,853,149

TREADLE MEGHANI SM Filed Dec. 7, 1929 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Pig? 2 42 Fig:5.

Patented Apr. 12 1932 UNITED STATE Sr V HARRY A. RISING, or BEVERLY,MASSACHUSETTS, nssrelvon TO nrrrrnn snon'piun 1 'CHINEEY oon'ronerron,or PATERSGN, new JnnsnY, A conronnrion on NEW JERSEY ATENT orrrn TanninnMECHANISM Application filed December 7, 1929, Serial No. 412,426.

This invention relates to treadle' mechanismfor machines of the typeinwhich it is desired to clamp alwork piece in position to be operatedupon, or toestablish an initial relation between a work piece and 'atool by consecutive movements of different character. One importantfield of application of the invention is in; connection with a solerounding machine wherein a sole is engaged 'by a movable clamping memberand held in position for presentation to theaction of a rounding knifeand for purposes of illus tration the invention will be disclosed inthis connection.

The efficient operation of sole rounding machines depends to aconsiderable extent upon the firmness with which the sole is held duringthe operation of the rounding knife. It has been the practice to holdthe work on the work table of. the machine'by clamping member andconnections directly operated by a treadle,-the necessary clampingpressure being secured by the operator by the'lever action of thetreadlex In order, however, to

- securesuificient pressure underthese circumstances, it has beennecessaryto move the treadle through a considerable arc, imposing anawkward and tiring action-upon the operator, Various attempts have beenmade, accordingly, to modify the treadle movement so as to bring theparts into initial engagement at a rapid rate requiring little effort onthe part of the operator, and then to effect the clamping movement underconditions of more effective leverage for the applicat on of increasedpressure. My prior Patent No. 1,649,- 5253, granted November 15,1927,represents a construction of thiskind and in one aspect the presentinvention consists in a further development or carrying-forward of theinvention disclosed in that patent.

In another aspect my invention consists'in treadle mechanismemploying asingle operating lever arranged for movement first about a primaryfulcrum located to'give a low ratio of power arm to work arm,alnd thenabout a secondary fulcrum locatedto give a high ratio of power arm towork arm. My invention includes also novel mechanism for mounting thetreadlelever and for bringing about the change of fulcrum when theinitial movement of the partsis terminated by a preliminary engagementof the work. As herein shown, the primary fulcrum of the treadle leveris yieldingly supported and is arranged to be displaced by continuingpressure upon the treadle when the work arm encounters increasedresistance in its movement. The displacement of the primary fulcrum isutilized in a novel manner to establish the secondary fulcrum which hasnecessarily been free to move during the initial movement of thetreadle. As herein shown, the treadle lever carries a guide roll or diskwhich travels freely upon a stationary track during the initial movementof the lever. Mechanism is provided including a clutch which may be Ireaches the point at which the fulcrums should be interchanged so thatin the further movement of. the lever the axis of the roll, in whateverposition it may occupy, constitutes the secondary fulcrum of the treadlelever. a

' Preferably and as herein shown, the clutch comprises oppositelyrotating pinions and the stationary track includes oppositely disposedracks with which they mesh. A "simple andveifective lock is secured bymounting the two pinions on a common journal and by clutching themtogether at the desired point in the movement of the treadle. The axisof the pinions thus becomes the secondary fulcrum of the lever. thismanner a wide range of treadle movement may be secured and that theshifting of fulcrumsmay be effected in any position of the-lever, thusadapting it'for use in machines where a considerable variation inthethickness of the work is encountered.

My lnvention also includes within its scope novel mechanism for engagingand disengagunloclfed without delay and without requir It willbe seenthat in lOfl ' ing is prevented.

ing any attention on the part of the operator when, in the returnmovement of the treadle, it is desired to shift back to the primaryfulcrum.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood andappreciated from the following description of a preferred embodimentthereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view of the mechanism inside elevation with a portion of the treadle lever broken away;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail view, partly in section, on the line 44 of Fig. 2;and

Fig. 5 is a detail view, partly in section, of the pinion stud showingalso the end of the shifting lever.

The treadle mechanism is shown as mounted upon a circular flangeconstituting a portion of the base of a rounding machine of well-knowncommercial type. The mechanism is mounted in a cast base or bracket 12having two supporting bosses and an adjusting screw 16 which afford a3-point bearing upon the flange 10 to which the bracket is secured by abolt 14. At its forward end, as seen in Fig. 1, the upper surface of thebracket 12 is milled to afford a flat surface to receive a. steel yokehaving upright arms 18 and 20 and being secured to the bracket by a bolt22 extending through its body part. The arm 18 has a segmental rackformed near its right-hand edge and the arm 20 has a similar segmentalrack formed near its left-hand edge. The arms have also parallel curvedoppositely disposed flanges forming guides for disks 50 and 52 rotatablymounted in the treadle lever, as will be presently described.

The bracket 12 at its rear end has two upstanding ears 24 which supportthe primary fulcrum of the treadle lever 32. A hardened wear piece 26with a hub 27 is mounted in the right-hand ear 24 and has a straightlower edge which engages a shou1-' der in the inner face of the car sothat turn- The wear piece has a flange at its upper edge and is held inplace by a set screw 23 threaded into the car 24 and bearing against thehub 27 A hardened wear piece 28 having a hub 29 is set in the left-handear 24, being held in place by a set screw 30 which engages its hub.

The treadle lever 32 fits between the hardened wear pieces 26 and 28,being shaped to fit the foot of the operator at its free or power endand being connected at its forward or work end to a vertical treadle rod34, by which the work clamps are operated.

The wear pieces 26 and 28 are provided with oppositely disposeddepressions to receive the cone points of spring-pressed plugs 36located in a transverse bore in the treadle lever 32 and disposedapproximately midway between the opposite ends of the lever. Immediatelyabove the axis of the plugs 36 the treadle lever is connected to atension spring 38, which is adjustably suspended by a hook 42 from anoverhanging arm bolted to the right-hand ear 24. The initial tension ofthe spring 38 is sufficient to maintain the treadle lever 32 up incontact with the overhanging flange 25 of the wear piece 26 but is notsufficient to strongly oppose a downward displacement of the treadlelever under conditions which will presently appear. The plugs 36, bytheir yielding engagement with the wear pieces, constitute the primaryfulcrum of the treadle lever 32 and it is about their axis that thepreliminary movement of the treadle takes place in bringing the workparts into initial engagement. It will be seen that in this movementtheratio of power arm to work arm is substantially 1 to 1.

The secondary fulcrum of the treadle lever 32 is carried by the arms 18and 20 of the yoke and will now be described. The lever is formed at itsforward end with an opening of suflicient size to receive the arms 18and 20 which are curved on a radius having the axis of the primaryfulcrum as a center. A'stud 54 extends across the opening in the forwardend of the lever and constitutes a journal for a pair of pinions 56 and58. The pinion 56 is formed integral with the disk and the pinion 58 isformed integral with the disk 52, and both are mounted to rotate freelyupon the stud 54. lVhen the work end of the treadle is moved upwardly,therefore, the pinion 56 meshing with the rack on the arm 18 is rotatedin a clockwise direction Fig. 1, about 'the stud 54 and the pinion 58meshing with the rack on the arm 20 is rotated in a counter clockwisedirection. The guiding action of the disks 50 and 52 upon the flanges ofthe arms 18 and 20 insures the uniform engagement of the gear teeth ofboth racks and pinions throughout the movement of the treadle lever andbalances their reaction upon the treadle lever without tendency totwisting or cramping. It will be apparent that throughout the movementof the treadle lever about its primary fulcrum both pinions are free tospin freely, their rotation taking place in opposite directions.

It is desired to lock together the pinions 56 and 58 in whateverposition they may occupy in order to prevent any vertical movement ofthe stud 54 and hence to establish the secondary fulcrum point whenincreased resistance is encountered by the treadle rod 34 as the workclamps are brought into engagement with the work. To this end, the innerface of each pinion is formed with cooperating clutch or ratchet teethso that when the pinions are moved together they are locked againstrelative rotation and become to all intents and purposes a singleintegral piece.

The stud 54 is arranged for axial or endpinion 58 is carried with it; Onthe other hand, the pinion 56 revolves freely upon the right-handportion of the stud so that the latter may move back and forth withoutaffecting the transverse position of the pinion.

The position of the stud 54 is controlled by a locking lever 66 havingan intermediate stationary fulcrum comprising a ball 68 (Fig. 3) formedupon the outer end of a stem proj ecting outwardly from the hub 29 ofthe lefthand wear piece 28.. The ball 68 is received in a'socket' in thelever 66 formed partly in the body thereof and partly by a cover plate70. 'The locking lever66, therefore, is free to oscillate in a verticalplane with the treadle lever 32 but may also move transversely.

Such locking movement of the lever is eifected by connection with averticallydisposed cam member 71 secured to the treadle lever 32 at apoint between its primary fulcrum and its power end. The .cam member 71has a transverse stem 72 adapted to be received in a boss 74 on thetreadle lever and to be locked in place by a set screw 76. It isprovided with a cam track'extending substantially vertically and having.a transverse offset therein. At its rear .end the locking lever 66 isprovided with a cam roller 80 of somewhat rounded periphery, which isarranged to run in the vertical cam trackand to shift the end of thelocking lever in or out when it encounters the ofi'setportion of the camtrack.

'At its forward end the locking-lever 66 is forked to embrace the sleeve62 onthe stud 54 and is provided with a pair of oppositely extendingscrews 82 which engage the flanged end of the sleeve 62 and serve tomove the stud 54 positively in an axial direction for engaging ordisengaging the pinions 56 and p 58. The lever 66 also carries a leafspring 84 which bears upon the head of the screw 64 in'the outer end ofthe stud 54, so that when the end of the locking lever is moved inwardlythe'stud 54 is moved toward-the right in a yielding manner, permittinglost motion in the lever 66 if the clutch teeth of the pinions happen tomake initial contact. The pinions 56 and 68 are thereupon lockedtogether, and

inasmuch as they must rotate in opposite directions, if they rotate atall, to permit any further movement-of the treadle lever'relatively tothe racks of the stationary yoke, they are held rigidly-in whateverposition theyhave reached and further movement of the treadle lever ashe ePe atQ mn inu t depress it now takes :placeabout the secondaryfulcrum constituted by the stud 54, which is now journaled in thestationary pinions 56 and58. The final upward movement of the treadlerod 32 is, therefore, effected by a lever action at a ratio of power armto work arm of approximately 7 tol.

The movement of the locking lever 66 relatively to the treadle lever 32which causes the cam roller 80 to traverse the cam track in, the cammember is effected whenever the c axis of the primary fulcrum coincidingwith the plugs 36 is shifted with reference to the fixed fulcrum of thelocking-lever. or, in other words, when this occurs the power end of thetreadle lever 32 is moved downwardly with reference to therear end ofthe locking lever which is held stationary upon its stationary fulcrumand the stud 54 which is then at rest. When the operator releases thetreadle lever, the spring 38 acts at once to pull it upwardly betweenthe wear pieces 26 and 28 until arrest-ed bythe action of the flange 25in initial position, with the plugs 36 again seated in the depressionsin the axis of the primary. fulcrum. The upward movement of the lever 32in the location of its primary fulcrum under the actuation of the spring38 causes a relative movement of the locking lever 66 and-the cam member7 0 in a reverse direction, throwing the inner end of the locking leverout wardly and positively separating the pinions I 56 and 58. y i I jWhere the treadle mechanism of my invention is used in connection with arounding machine, it will be understood that a clampingmember isconnected to the .ltreadle rod 34 and that duringthe initial movement ofthe treadle this is moved rapidly toward and clamping member encountersthe sole, the increased resistance temporarily arrests the upwardmovement of the treadle lever 32 and the displacement of its primaryfulcrum takes place. 7. Continued depression of the treadle thereafterabout its secondary fulcrum forces the clamping member against the solewith great pressure and holds it firm- 1y inplace. c

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is: a

l; Treadle' mechanism comprising a lever having a yieldingly supportedfulcrum, means adjacent to the work end of the lever for guiding it in afixed path, means including a clutch for causing said lever to be supported by said guiding means, and means for operating the clutch whensaid fulcrum yields whereby a secondary fulcrum for the lever isestablished.

of the lever in the guides when the lever encounters increasedresistance.

3. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever having a yielding intermediatefulcrum,

guides adjacent to the work end of the lever concentric with the axis ofsaid intermediate fulcrum, a journal pin carried by said lever andfreely movable with respect to said guides, and means for locking saidjournal pin in position with respect to said guides to form a secondaryfulcrum for the lever when said intermediate fulcrum is displaced.

4. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever, a yieldingly supportedintermediate fulcrum, oppositely disposed racks adjacent to the work endof the lever, pinions in meshing engagement with said racks, means forrotatably supporting said pinions on said lever, and means for lockingsaid pinions together, thereby to cause the pinion supporting means tobecome a secondary fulcrum when the lever encounters suflicientresistance to displace its intermediate fulcrum.

5; Treadle mechanism comprising a lever having a stud adjacent to itswork end with oppositely rotating pinions thereon, a yieldinglysupported intermediate fulcrum, oppositely disposed stationary racksmeshing with said pinions, and means for locking said pinions togetherwhen said intermediate fulcrum is displaced, whereby the lever may swingupon said stud as a. secondary fulcrum.

6. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever having a transverse stud withoppositely rotating pinions disposed side by side thereon, a yieldinglysupported intermediate fulcrum, stationary racks meshing with saidpinions on opposite sides thereof, and means for locking said pinionsagainst reverse rotation when said intermediate fulcrum is displaced,thereby forming stationary bearings for said stud 011 which said levermay turn as a secondary fulcrum.

7. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever, a yieldingly supportedintermediate fulcrum, a rack adjacent to the work end of the lever, astud carried by the lever, a pinion freely rotatable upon the stud andmeshing with the rack, and means for arresting relative movement betweenthe pinion and the rack, whereby the lever may swing upon said stud as asecondary fulcrum when said intermediate.

fulcrum is displaced.

8. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever, a yieldingly supportedintermediate fulcrum, a stationary rack adjacent to the work end of thelever, a pinion carried by the lever and arranged to rotate in mesh withthe rack during the movement of the lever about said intermediatefulcrum, and means for arrestsitely rotated thereby in the movement ofthe lever about its intermediate fulcrum, and means for relativelymoving said pinions to engage their clutch faces thereby to fix saidjournal pin in position to serve as a secondary fulcrum for said lever.

10. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever having a yielding intermediatefulcrum and an opening near its Work end, a pair of stationary guidemembers projecting through said opening and being concentric with theaxis of said fulcrum, a journal member supported by said lever andcarrying elements having rolling engagement with said guide members, andmeans for preventing movement of said rolls with respect to said guideswhen said intermediate fulcrum is displaced, whereby said journal membermay serve as a secondary fulcrum for the lever.

11. Treadle mechanism comprising a lever having an intermediate fulcrum,means for yieldingly positioning said lever in the axis of said fulcrumincluding oppositely disposed cone-pointed studs and cooperatingsockets, a spring acting on the lever, and a stop cooperating therewithto arrest the lever with said studs and sockets in alignment.

12. Treadle mechanism comprising a treadle lever having a yieldingintermediate fulcrum and a journal member adjacent to the work end,stationary guides disposed adjacent to the work end of said lever,connections between said journal and said guides for fixing the axis ofthe journal with respect to said guides, and means actuated by thedisplacement of said intermediate fulcrum for causing engagement of saidclutch, thereby to establish a secondary fulcrum for said lever.

13. Treadle mechanism comprising an integral treadle' lever carryingfulcrum ele ments at different points in its length, a stationarysupport for said fulcrum elements, means for yieldingly maintaining oneset of fulcrum elements in operative position while the other set isfreely moved by the lever, and means for positively anchoring said otherset when the first is moved.

14. Treadle mechanism comprising a onepiece treadle lever carryingjournal members at two separate points in its length, a stationarysupport associated with each member, means for yieldingly holding oneournal member in place while the other is free to move with the lever,and means for anchoring 7 said other journal member to its support whenthe first is moved.

15; Treadle mechanism comprising a treadle lever, a stationary supporthaving a yielding intermediate fulcrum for the lever, a stationary guidenear the work end of the lever concentric with the axis of said ful- Icrum, a transversely engageable clutch carried by said lever andcooperating with said guide, and a locking lever for the clutch having afixed fulcrum disposed in substantial alignment with the axis of saidintermediate fulcrum, said treadle lever having means con. structed andarranged to operate said locking lever.

16. Treadle mechanism comprising a treadle lever, a stationary supporthaving a yielding intermediate fulcrum for the lever, a stationary guideassociated with the work end of the lever, a member carried by the leverand arranged to travel upon the stationary guide, a clutch mechanism forlooking said member in position upon the guide, a lever for operatingsaid clutch mechanism, and connections between said clutch operating andtreadle levers remote from the clutch mechanism and constructed andarranged .to transform relative parallel movement of said levers aboutthe intermediate fulcrum to relative transverse movement to operate theclutch.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

' HARRY A. RISING.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTIQN.

Patent No. 1,853,149. April 12, 1932.

HARRY A. RiSING.

it is hereby certified that error appears in this printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as tsiisws: Page 4,line 116, claim i2, strike out the werds "causing engagement of said;clutch" and insert instead "operating said connections"; and that thesaid Letters Patent should he read with this correctien therein that thesame may csrst'srm t0 the record of the case in the Patent Offitse.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of May, A. D. 1933.

t M. Moore (heal) Acting (lommlss loner of Patents.

